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Call Box: Mary Todd Lincoln once slept at Jacksonville resort

Dear Call Box: Tell me about the ornate blue and white house at the corner of Goodwin Street and River Boulevard.

C.Z., Riverside

Dear C.Z.: River House, as it’s now called, was once a hotel whose most famous guest was a presidential widow who was going through what historians cite as her “famous insanity phase.”

Mary Todd Lincoln, widow of Abraham Lincoln, sought refuge in Jacksonville from her arthritic pains. She stayed at the three-story facility when it was known as Rochester House near the present site of the Florida Times-Union at Leila Street and Riverside Avenue.

It was the height of the tourist season, and she was there from November 1874 to March 1875, said Jacksonville historian and author Wayne Wood and other internet sources.

While here, she reportedly visited the sulphur springs in Green Cove Springs. There’s no record as to whether it eased her arthritis, but mentally she grew increasingly confused. Historians said she developed such an obsession for privacy that she pulled down the shades in her Rochester House suite, and, believing that gaslight was a tool of the devil, used only candles to brighten her quarters.

In 1875, historians said she developed an overwhelming fear that her only living son, Robert, was seriously ill. After sending a hysterical telegram to his law partner, she demanded that he contact her immediately. In a subsequent telegram, she told Robert to “rouse yourself and live for my sake. All I have is yours from this hour. …”

Robert Lincoln, who was in excellent health, told the Jacksonville telegraph operator to keep him informed about his mother’s mental condition. Although the operator tried to convince her that her son was fine, she left for Chicago that same day accompanied by her nurse. The operator sent Robert a message saying that she had left by train and was still convinced that he was dangerously ill.

When Robert met her at the station, she was surprised that he seemed healthy but claimed that someone on the train tried to poison her, historians said. While they were staying at a Chicago hotel, she tried to go to the lobby in her nightdress. When Robert tried to stop her, she screamed that he was trying to murder her. He managed to calm her but also arranged to have her committed to a mental hospital.

As for Rochester House, it has another claim to fame. It’s the oldest remaining tourist hotel in Jacksonville, Wood said. During its heyday, it also drew guests from New York, Rhode Island, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and other states.

Wood estimates that it was built in 1869. Isaac Jameson had bought the property for $1,500 in February 1868. Jameson opened the hotel, naming it in honor of his hometown, Rochester, N.Y. Accommodating up to 40 guests, it was shaded by wild orange, oak and magnolia trees and provided facilities for boating and fishing.

By 1885, the house was owned by Frederick Robinson, a well-known machinery manufacturer. In his book, “Jacksonville’s Architectural Heritage,” Wood described it as a large and spacious villa with airy balconies suggestive of cool and comfort on a warm summer day. It had a grove of orange trees and a flight of stairs leading down the terraced lawn to the St. Johns River.

Architecturally, it’s a Second Empire-style building with wooden quoins, bracketed eaves and a mansard roof, he said.

In 1911, the building had its own moving experience – quite literally – when it was placed on a barge and moved down the river. It was relocated to a new waterfront location at what is now 2105 River Blvd. and converted into an apartment building. Unfortunately, Wood said, the two-tiered veranda was enclosed and some of its dormer windows altered.

For about 30 years, the building was owned by Robert Freeman, Doug Milne, Judge Fred Buttner and Ted Pappas. It was sold last October to FJ Flieler 2 LLC, which is conducting an extensive renovation.

Pappas, an architect, said it has five apartments, two on the first floor, two on the second and one on the third. The building is all wood and has a spiral staircase, he said. When one of its tenants brought in a grand piano, it was too big to take up the stairs. Parts of the screened porch on the second floor had to be temporarily removed, and the piano hoisted by crane, Pappas said.

“It’s a wonderful house with great views,” he said.

The new owners removed a tree at the front of the house that was adversely affecting the steps, Pappas said. They are replacing the roof, installing new air conditioning and making other infrastructure improvements.

“I think it’s going to be great when it’s done,” said John Hurtubise, a nearby property owner.

If you have a question about Jacksonville’s history, call (904) 359-4622 or mail to Call Box, P.O. Box 1949, Jacksonville, FL 32231. Please include contact information. Photos are also welcome.